A Southern Grace: the streak

August 9, 2012

the streak

Yum




You might be surprised to learn that Ray Stevens is one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters. When I was but a wee lass, I listened to his greatest hits cassette tape (remember those?) until it no longer functioned.


Mississippi Squirrel Revival. (Spoiler: The squirrel went berserk.) The Dooright Family. It's Me Again, Margaret. Gitarzan. Everything is Beautiful. I could just go on and on. Another of his ditties that I can still sing to this day is The Streak.
He ain't rude,
He ain't lewd,
He's just in the mood to run in the nude


I so often feel that way. If you're unfamiliar with the man (and most of you probably are) and in need of a chuckle, check him out! He also did a cover of I'm My Own Grandpa, which is simply one of the most hilarious and ingenious songs ever written.


Speaking of streaks (brace yourselves for a tremendous segue!), I'm pretty excited about these streaky sugar cookies. All I did was take regular sugar cookie dough, split it into 3 hunks, dye each hunk a different color, then knead and roll. Isn't it a nifty effect? Have fun with it--every cookie in every batch you make will be unique!

(Oh yes, they call him the) Streak Sugar Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
  • 1-1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Various food colorings or gels
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it is smooth.
Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.
Stir in the flour, baking powder and the salt.
Divide the dough into four portions, shape each into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
Remove one disk of dough from the fridge and split it into three balls.
Add the food coloring to each of the dough balls, kneading it in just until desired color is achieved.
Briefly knead the three colors together so that a swirl effect is obtained. Don't go too crazy or you'll end up with brown dough.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out the now-colored dough (on a floured surface) so that it is 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick.
Cut the dough into shapes with any cookie cutter.
Place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake them for 6 to 8 minutes in a preheated oven. Cool them completely, then frost as desired.


38 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Those are so pretty!

Happy Sunday.

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Waw!

Your cookies look so colourful & fabulous even, dear Grace! :)

MMMMMMMMM!

Alicia Foodycat said...

I have never heard of this man, but anyone whose music inspires psychadelic cookies is OK by me!

Angie's Recipes said...

How adorable! The icing looks really pretty.

Joanne said...

Tie-dyed cookies! These look so pretty!

Faith said...

When I was a kid I had a Disney tape of "Silly Songs" and I'm My Own Grandpa was on there! Not sure who sang it, but I always got a kick out of the song. :)

Bonnie said...

Totally inspirational. I can see where Ray Stevens fits in. BTW, those cookies look amazing!

http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88

vanillasugarblog said...

sorry gracie pie, never heard of the man
tie dye cookies.
wouldn't they make fabulous ice cream sammiches?

Carolyn Jung said...

The '60's in a cookie. Love it! ;)

I Wilkerson said...

So cute! But why do I fear mine would come out brown? And I do remember Ray Stevens--think I may even have had an old 45 of Everything is Beautiful. (People REALLY won't know what those are)

Nelson's Mama said...

I love Ray Stevens. My favorite is Roger Miller, not really of my time, but another genius as well.

Pam said...

I'll have to check Ray Stevens. The cookies look fun and tasty.

The Squishy Monster said...

tooo cute! I hope you enjoyed your weekend, my friend!!

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Beautiful cookies my friend and cute post :D

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

So cute, I really like them.

Lora said...

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I still can sing some of the lyrics as well. So funny. Love your streak cookies.

Leslie said...

very cool cookies. Love the vibrant colors!

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

I love how colorful these are!

lisa is cooking said...

The Streak! Thanks for reminding me of that. Great cookie name too. I love that each one is unique.

Erica said...

Beautiful cookies!!!Love all the colors!

Carol G said...

My parents loved Ray Stevens and we listened to him on 8 Track and albums :) No matter how many times I hear his songs, they still crack me up :) I tried this recipe and it is definitely a keeper! Thank you!!

Cathleen said...

These cookies are gorgeous! I love the colors, so pretty

Lucy @ Lucyeats said...

What a fantastic idea -they look super yummy!

Beth said...

I haven't thought about that song in ages! Love the cookies, and the segue.

Juliana said...

The cookies are very pretty, love the colors and the streak on it...very artistic Grace :)
Have a great week!

Barbara said...

I was thinking about cassettes just last night...and wondered if I had any left, or anything to play them on if I did. Funny! The kids come home and take care of 45's (we have an entire box of those), cassettes, and LP's. They are forever organizing them.
(And yes, I know all about Ray Stevens.)
Your cookies look like a party! Grandkids would love to make these, Grace.

Louisa said...

I love these! It's like tie dye cookies! I can't believe I hadn't noticed the lack of hunky men in Bunheads... maybe it's because I get my dose of hunky man from Derek in Teen Wolf and Eric in True Blood! :)

Lori said...

Love these- absolutely must make!

Monet said...

Smile. Isn't it fun to make treats based on art we love? These are lovely...full of life and color. Thank you for sharing them with me!

Blond Duck said...

I like anything with rainbows!

Nic said...

Cool cookies, and very colourful! I think the colours on mine would all mush together, lol!

Ang Russ said...

I also grew up listening to Ray Stevens and still love to play the Mississippi Squirrel Revival song when I need a pick-me-up!!
The cookies look great... I will pin them and make them real soon!
Thanks for the laugh and the memories!

Ang
arussoriginal.com

Hungry Dog said...

How fun! These would be so wonderful to make for a party...people--even adults--can't resist something this colorful!

Half Baked said...

Love the tye dye look of these cookies! Ray Stevens is great too!

Jackie @Syrup and Biscuits said...

You're streaky cookies are simply gorgeous. They remind me of the pretty steaky cupcakes you made. :)

~~louise~~ said...

I never heard of the man either but those cookies are indescribably awesome!!!

Thanks so much for sharing Grace...

P.S. I hope you don't mind that I Pinned your Goat Cheese Give-Away on my Goat Cheese Month Board. It's a really cool give-away; have FUN!

Gloria Baker said...

Look beautiful Grace!

Robin said...

Love the idea of these cookies- so fun! Ray did have some cool songs and I do have old cassettes, just no way to play them!